COMIC-CON OFFERS LAST (SLIM) CHANCE FOR BADGES

Resale of returned passes will be done through drawing

Comic-Con organizers are offering fans one last chance to gain entry to the always sold-out extravaganza, this time via a random drawing.

Although badges sold out within two hours of going on sale earlier this year, several thousand were returned, allowing Comic-Con International to resell them.

Unlike years past, the resale this time will be conducted through a drawing that began on Monday and will close Wednesday at 11 p.m. To participate, you must already have a Comic-Con member ID. Those with IDs should have already received an email informing them of the resale and how to enter online.

Organizers decided to use a drawing as opposed to another online sale “due to the very limited number of badges available.”

While there are several thousand single-day badges available for resale, including 3,100 Saturday tickets, all four-day badges are sold out. Anyone who has already registered for or purchased a four-day badge (with or without preview night) or a Saturday badge will not be eligible to enter the drawing.

Those selected to participate in the badge resale may purchase their own badges, as well as badges for one additional guest, as long as he or she has a member ID and does not already have a four-day or Saturday badge.

Comic-Con will notify everyone who is selected to participate by email on or before June 17. The four-day convention will be held July 18-21.

In 2012, all tickets to the pop-culture extravaganza sold out in a record one hour and 20 minutes. This year’s sellout, on Feb. 16, took a bit longer — one hour and 40 minutes.

Because Comic-Con long ago outgrew the space at the San Diego Convention Center, it can no longer accommodate more than the estimated 130,000 attendees that the event attracts each year.

The city has approved an expansion of the center, but construction cannot start until it is approved by the California Coastal Commission.

The $520 million project also faces legal hurdles. The city is also awaiting the outcome of litigation over whether the hotel room surcharge approved to finance the expansion is legal.

In the meantime, Comic-Con International has committed to staying in San Diego through 2016, despite being wooed by other cities.